The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has announced a total tax revenue collection of N5.5 trillion for the first half of 2023, higher than the N5.3 trillion mid-year revenue target.
Muhammad Nami, executive chairman of the FIRS disclosed this while presenting the 2023-2024 tax revenue outlook to the National Economic Council at its meeting held in Abuja on Thursday.
According to a statement issued by Johannes Wojuola, special assistant on media and communication to the executive chairman, the total revenue for the period was the highest tax revenue ever recorded by the service in any first six months of a fiscal year.
This is as the service made a total collection of N10.1 trillion in the year 2022.
The presentation by Nami, which contained FIRS’ 2023 half-year collection report, showed that the FIRS achieved over 100 percent of its target for the first half of the year when compared with a mid-year target of N5.3 trillion.
According to the report, tax revenue collected from the oil sector from January to June 2023, stood at N2.03 trillion, as against a target of N2.3 trillion; while non-oil tax collection stood at N3.76 trillion, as against a target of N2.98 trillion.
Nami, who attributed the excellent performance to improved voluntary tax compliance enabled by the automation of FIRS’ tax administrative processes, said that the service collected a total of N1.65 trillion tax revenue in June 2023.
“This sum is the highest tax revenue collected by the service in any single month.
Read also: Again, FG to shut section of Eko Bridge for 40 days repair
“This is a good head start as we work towards meeting our target for the year. And it was achieved despite stubborn headwinds such as the impact of the currency redesign and the 2023 general election on the economy in the first and second quarters of 2023.
“This half-year performance was achieved as a result of improved voluntary tax compliance by taxpayers, the continued improvement of automation of our tax administration processes, including the updated VAT filing processes; as well as our dogged engagement with stakeholders in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy,” he said.
Nami speaking further, gave assurances of increased revenue collections in the second half of the year and noted the continued improvement to the nation’s tax administration processes and the positive impact of the current government’s policies on the economy.
